Abstract
A longitudinal study of broadband civic network design is analyzed using social construction of technology (SCOT) approach and then through the lens of institutional theory. SCOT is useful to show how artifacts take on the forms they do; institutional theory, by locating (design) action in a cultural, historical and structural context can complement SCOT by explaining why they tend to assume certain forms. Broadband civic networking initiatives often have mixed goals: ensuring financial viability and realizing normative social aims. In the present case, this tension was resolved by fitting the network's technological and social form to a criterion of legitimacy prevailing among power centers in the broader field; this succeeded in eliciting necessary financial resources to sustain the network, but at the expense of the project's normative aims. Institutional approaches theorize the relation of cultural ideas and social structure, and that of structure and social action, to interrogate micro-politics of social constructions and the (intended/unintended) forms they assume. To engage the Why question, constructivists need to theorize action. Sociological institutional theory offers pointers.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Archer, M.S. (1995). Realist social theory: The morphogenetic approach. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Barley, S.R., and Tolbert, P.S. (1997). Institutionalization and structuration: Studying the links between action and institution. Organization Studies, 18(1), 93–117.
Bijker, W. E. (1995). Of bicycles, Bakelites, and bulbs: Toward a theory of sociotechnical change. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Brint, S., and Karabel, J. (1991). Institutional origins and transformations: The case of American community colleges. In W.W. Powell & P.J. DiMaggio (Eds.), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
DiMaggio, P. (1988). Interest and agency in institutional theory. In L.G. Zucker (Ed.), Institutional patterns and organizations: Culture and environment. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.
DiMaggio, P.J., and Powell, W.W. (1991). Introduction. In W.W. Powell & P.J. DiMaggio (Eds.), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Fligstein, N. (1999). Social skill and the theory of fields. Unpublished mss. Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley.
Friedland, R., and Alford, R.A. (1991). Bringing society back in: Symbols, practices, and institutional contradictions. In W.W. Powell & P.J. DiMaggio (Eds.), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Galaskiewicz, J. (1991). Making corporate actors accountable: Institution-building in Minneapolis-St. Paul. In W.W. Powell & P.J. DiMaggio (Eds.), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Goodin, R. E. (1996). Institutions and their design. In R.E. Goodin (Ed.), The theory of institutional design. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Hirsch, P.M., and Lounsbury, M. (1997). Ending the family quarrel: Toward a reconciliation of “old” and “new” institutionalisms. American Behavioral Scientist, 40(4), 406–418.
Jepperson, R.L. (1991). Institutions, institutional effects, and institutionalism. In W.W. Powell & P.J. DiMaggio (Eds.), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Kimberly, J. R. (1975). Environmental constraints and organizational structure: A comparative analysis of rehabilitation organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 20, 1–9.
Mische, A. (2003). Cross-talk in movements: Reconceiving the culture-network link. In M. Diani & D. McAdam (Eds.), Social movements and networks: Relational approaches to collective action. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
McAdam, D. (2003). Beyond structural analysis: Toward a more dynamic understanding of social movements. In M. Diani & D. McAdam (Eds.), Social movements and networks: Relational approaches to collective action. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Munch, R., and Smesler, N.J. (1987). Relating the micro and macro. In J.C Alexander, B. Giesen, R. Munch & N.J. Smesler (Eds.), The Micro-Macro Link. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
O'Mahony, S. C. (2002). The emergence of a new commercial actor: Community managed software projects. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Stanford University.
Orlikowski, W., and Gash, D.C. (1994). Technological frames: Making sense of information technology in organizations. ACM Transactions on Information Systems, 12(2), 174–207.
Pierson, P. (2000). The limits of design: Explaining institutional origins and change. Governance: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Policy and Administration, 13(4), 475–499.
Porpora, D. V. (1989). Four concepts of social structure. Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior, 19(2), 195–211.
Powell, W.W. (1991). Expanding the scope of institutional analysis. In W.W. Powell & P.J. DiMaggio (Eds.), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Rao, H. (1998). Caveat Emptor: The construction of non-profit consumer watchdog organizations. American Journal of Sociology, 103(4), 912–961.
Ranson, S., Hinings, R., and Greenwood, R. (1980). The structuring of organizational structures. Administrative Science Quarterly, 43(3), 1–17.
Scott, R., and Meyer, J. W. (1991). The organization of societal sectors: Propositions and early evidence. In W.W. Powell & P.J. DiMaggio (Eds.), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Selznick. P. (1949). TVA and the grass roots. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Snow, D.A., and Benford, R.D. (1988). Ideology, frame resonance and movement participation. In B. Klandermans, H. Kreisi, & S. Tarrow (Eds.), From structure to action. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Tarrow, S. (1992). Mentalities, political cultures, and collective action frames: Constructing meanings through action. In A.D. Morris & C.M. Mueller (Eds.), Frontiers in social movement theory. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Tsoukas, H. (1989). The validity of idiographic research explanations. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 551–561.
Winner, L. (1993). Social constructivism: Opening the black box and finding it empty. Science as Culture, 3(16), 427–452.
Zald, M.N. (1996). Culture, ideology, and strategic framing. In D. McAdam, J.D. McCarthy & M.N. Zald (Eds.), Comparative perspectives on social movements: Political opportunities, mobilizing structures, and cultural framings. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2005 Springer
About this paper
Cite this paper
Venkatesh, M., Shin, D.H. (2005). Extending Social Constructivism with Institutional Theory: A Broadband Civic Networking Case. In: Van Den Besselaar, P., De Michelis, G., Preece, J., Simone, C. (eds) Communities and Technologies 2005. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3591-8_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3591-8_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-3590-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-3591-3
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)